Digital content items, such as digital music, video, games, ringtones and the like may be grouped into playlists. Such playlists may be created by a user and/or by a service. The digital content items from such playlists may be saved to a device for organized use and enjoyment by a user. In many cases, it is desirable for primary storage of the content items and related playlists to occur at a network-accessible service, with which the remote device periodically interacts via a user account to manage the playlists, download content items, etc.
Typically, digital content items must be downloaded to the user's local device before playback, and bandwidth and download times constrain the rate at which content can be made available on the local device. In cases where many items have yet to be transferred, there is a heightened chance that the user will issue an item request that cannot be immediately satisfied. Furthermore, ineffective management of content transfer poses an even greater concern in situations where connectivity between the device and the content service is unavailable or intermittent.